Your deadline is approaching, and you suddenly realize that you don’t have NEAR as much done as you wanted to by this point.
So what do you do? You begin scrambling, kicking it into high gear to get your work together in time, worrying that you won’t quite be able to add in all the details that you had planned.
If this has ever happened to you, then you know what I am talking about, and all the stress that you can cause yourself.
If this happens to you quite often, then you are a master of procrastination.
I happen to be one of those people who have spent a lifetime developing the skill, perfecting it into an art that some might even call astonishing.
There are people who can manage to get by with always doing their work last minute, by why just get by when you could be progressing and becoming more and more productive?
This is a note that I read at least two times every single day to remind myself to use the time like the precious resource that it is and to not waste it.
Having deadlines can be difficult, but if you have a boss or teacher or coworker to remind you and hold you (or your job) accountable, it makes it just a bit easier to meet those deadlines.
When you are an entrepreneur or freelancer, the only person telling you what to do or keeping you accountable is yourself.
YOU are the only one to blame when you procrastinate too long and miss your chance to get on board with that great team, idea, or project.
Don’t let it happen to you!
You know that you can rise above it.
Imagine all the things that you could get done in 8 hours of working, utilizing every minute of your time to be productive.
Or, you could spend entirely too much time distracting yourself with all of these other things that you KNOW you could do after you get your work done.
When it only takes you two hours to write that article because you utilized those two hours instead of dragging it into four, you could write tomorrow’s article with that extra two hours. Or have time to get that Excel spreadsheet done. Or have time to run those errands you would have otherwise had to put off until tomorrow.
The less you procrastinate, the more you can get done. The more you get done, the more you CAN get done, which leads to a higher level of productivity overall.
If you want to move forward in your company, with your personal goals, with ANYTHING, stop putting it off, and treat the seconds that tick by as a resource and tool, not an endless luxury that you can waste. It is valuable, and you are valuable enough and smart enough to use it to benefit yourself and your goals.
Thank you, wise Post-It, for reminding us of what we already know, but sometimes struggle with. May your wisdom be applied to our lives so that we stop browsing Facebook so much and start pushing our potential as enthusiastic, productive workers and as human beings. Amen!
I Work For Me 